Use this Facebook Tool to Save Time in your Job Search

How Facebook Interest Lists Can Help your Career

Information overload is one of the biggest challenges for today’s job seekers and career changers. Although social media tools can add to this if not managed carefully, they also offer new possibilities for online networking and company research.

If you are one of the 2 out of 3 online adults who use Facebook, have you considered it as a professional tool? In the last issue, we talked about the kinds of information you need to discern a company’s culture. Facebook is one tool that can support you in this research.

Creating customized interest lists is a quick and easy way to benefit from the vast amount of information available through Facebook. I have copied screen shots of my own page to take you step by step through creating a list.

Within 5 or 10 minutes you can have your own list customized to your personal career goals.

Depending on your goals, you can add companies or organizations, news sources, or thought leaders in your field. Because your list is customized to your needs, it can provide valuable information that is easy to access quickly.

How to Get Started

Browse or Search

Log in to your personal profile.

Click on “Interests”, listed on the left-hand sidebar of your screen.

As you can see from the screenshot, you have different options for list creation.

Browse suggestions

Select a category and browse

Use the Search box to find your own.

An Example: Technology Company Interest List

See the 2 screen shots below for an example of
the steps involved in creating an interest list of Technology Companies.Adapt this to your own goals.

Select the “Technology” category

Browse the suggestions and select the ones of interest

Add your selections to create your own customized list.

Choose your List Settings

Be sure to check to settings on your list. Are they appropriate for your purpose?
Is it for your own use only? Do you want to share it within, or outside of your current network?

As you see from the screenshot, you have 3 options:

Public

Friends

Only Me

Do you want to add new connections to your network? A public list is a way of sharing resources and attracting others with similar interests. You can invite others to join. If there is an existing list, you can subscribe to that instead of creating your own list.

If you are doing a discreet job search, you can keep the list private and simply use as an easy way of gathering information that is an easy way to skim. This is a great way to keep in touch with news of companies that you are interested in providing that they are active on Facebook.

Questions & Comments

Try it out to see if lists are something that will helpful for you. Visit my Facebook page to share your comments and questions.

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